From Beijing With Love

In reading some other reviews for Forbidden City Cop, I saw the reference to this being Chow's first "modern" or "mature" work. I'm not exactly sure of what that means -- there is bit less toilet humor in here than his previous movies (especially those directed by $$ID=Wong Jing$$, who just sticks to producing this one) and there are fewer outright parodies, though there are a couple of really funny ones of Fox television's horrible Alien Autopsy show and the Hong Kong Film Awards. I believe it refers more to the fact that Chow's character himself seems more mature than his past ones.

In Forbidden City Cop, Chow doesn't seem as buffoonish or cocky, and thus more likeable from the start. Also, even though female characters have in Chow's films always been the yin to his yang, the ones featured here (especially Carina Lau) have fully changed into the bedrock, the person that Chow truly depends on -- a trend which continues to this day, with $$ID=Vicky Zhao$$ in full filling the role in Chow's latest film, Shaolin Soccer. It is refreshing to see this kind of characterization for women, instead of the whiny, useless or just plain bitchy mode they are portrayed as in many other comedies (a notable example is $$ID=Maggie Cheung$$'s insufferably annoying May from the Police Story films).

Getting back to the movie itself, Forbidden City Cop's first half is extremely funny. The jokes come at a rapid-fire pace, and the supporting cast is excellent (especially $$ID=Law Kar Ying$$, who plays the one person in the emperor's court who likes 008). It's classic Stephen Chow all the way, with lots of rubber-faced mugging, over-the-top humor, and a good deal of action. However, near the midway point, the film takes a violent turn -- I'm surprised that Forbidden City Cop only got a IIA (about the equivalent of a PG-13 in the US) rating with all the spurting blood -- and stacks on another layer into a already fairly dense film.

As the threat from the Gum Kingdom seems to have been solved, a new story about 008 being sent to check on a new concubine (Carman Lee) for the emperor is introduced. So, at this point, Forbidden City Cop seems to change gears into a totally different plotline. While things do come together at the end, perhaps some foreshadowing of this second story (so to speak) would have made the transition smoother for the viewer.

As 008 begins to fall for Carman, the plot seems to get a bit too convoluted -- the character's actions don't really make much sense -- and the jokes fall a bit flat. Thankfully, things pick up near the end, where the ambiguous plot is wrapped up and there is a really good action sequence, which again shows that Stephen Chow could be a "regular" action star if he chose to. Even though Forbidden City Cop ends nicely, the events in the last half of the movie feel a bit dull, and the movie suffers overall as a result.

Still, even a "lesser" effort from Stephen Chow is much better than many other comedies from both the US and Hong Kong. I think it is because Chow is so good that we expect near-perfection from him. Like Jackie Chan for kung fu or Chow Yun-Fat for gangster movies, Stephen Chow is undeniably the king of comedy in Hong Kong, which is both good and bad. Chow's personality and style is more than enough to make an average film a good one, but the problem is that we expect all of his movies to be great, and when (like Forbidden City Cop) they don't fully deliver, the viewer feels a bit disappointed. At any rate, even though it has its' share of flaws, Forbidden City Cop is still a very enjoyable comedy that should please fans of Stephen Chow.

Review Courtesy of Neil KochFrom Beijing with love$$ID=Stephen Chow$$ plays a guy who wants to be a secret agent like his dad, but couldn't pass the qualification tests and such now earns his living as a butcher. However, when China's best agent ($$ID=Yu Rong Guang$$) is killed by a mysterious man with a golden gun during an attempt to obtain a valuable fossil, the commander (Joe Cheng Cho) decides to bring in Stephen. It soon becomes clear that Cheng has other motives and wants to set up Stephen as a patsy, and then have him killed by double agent $$D=Anita Yuen$$. Can Stephen unravel the mystery, save the world and get the girl all in the space of ninety minutes?

I've always been a huge fan of James Bond movies and, as per the more films I watch of his, I am also becoming a huge fan of Stephen Chow as well. So when a movie is offered up that combines them both, I was pretty hyped to check it out. The results aren't as outstanding as I hoped -- but I had huge expectations for this film -- but is still a satisfying cinematic experience nonetheless.

From Beijing With Love starts out as a pretty dead-on parody of the Bond movies, with a good pre-credits action sequence and then a hilarious take on the famous Bond title sequences. We then follow this with a great take on the mandatory "gadget" scene, with $$ID=Law Kar Ying$$ (whose Cantonese name of Tat Man Sai is the same one given for Leonardo DaVinci... but in true Stephen Chow fashion "Man Sai" is also slang for "smelly pussy") playing a decidedly stupider version of the famous Q. Stephen's gadgets in this movie are not watches equipped with lasers or cars that can turn into submarines, rather they are things like a solar-powered flashlight and a briefcase that turns into a chair so that you can take a rest whilst stalking your target (a direct parody of the gimmick-laden suitcase in From Russia With Love).

However, after this, it turns into much more of a typical Stephen Chow "moy len tau" (nonsense comedy), which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I was hoping for a bit more Bond-style action (i.e., big-ass action sequences). Most of the running time is dominated by Chow's usual Cantonese puns, physical comedy and overt dramatics (through his scenes with love interest Anita Yuen). Not that I'm complaining that much -- there are several memorable bits in the movie, such as one after Stephen gets shot and he uses a porno movie for an anesthetic while Anita operates and Pauline Chan (a former Cat 3 soft core star who plays one of the mandatory hoods with a gimmick) operating a flamethrower bra. The action sequences, while not huge, are still pretty exciting, and quite bloody in parts. Stephen's favorite weapon (from his days as a butcher) is a giant cleaver, which he puts to use in a few pretty gory bits, including one where he chops a guy's fingers off before slashing his throat -- the usual Bond PG-13 action this ain't.

It's just that the movie as a whole is not as solid as some of Chow's other works. But From Beijing With Love is still worth a look if you are into Stephen Chow's movies, even if you are not a big fan of spy capers.

Review Courtesy of Neil Koch